Prime minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson says he is “not worried about Iceland’s reputation abroad” following revelations he is among a dozen current or former world leaders using offshore tax havens.
Sigmundur Davíð was in a defiant mood when interviewed by local radio station Bylgjan this morning, despite having been featured in local media and on the covers of numerous newspapers around the world as an alleged tax fraud. He accused the reporters, conducting the interview aired on Sunday, of “designing the line of questions so they would throw him of balance” and continued to insist that he has done nothing wrong, illegal or immoral.
More: Watch full interview with Iceland's Prime Minister: No, I will not resign
Among other heads of states revealed in the Panama papers to have connection to offshore companies are Russia’s president Putin, Syria’s president Assad and Ukraine’s president Poroshenko.
Iceland’s prime minster is the only head of state in a western democratic country who has been linked directly to a company listed in an offshore tax haven.
Iceland Insider’s analysis: What will happen next?
Prime minister Sigmundur Davíð seems to be completely delusional regarding his own position and regarding the damage done to Iceland’s reputation. At the same time as he keeps insisting that his coalition government of the Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn) and the Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) is standing strong, Bjarni Benediktsson, the leader of the Independence Party, has refused to offer his support to the prime minister and acknowledges that the life of the government is hanging by a thread. We predict that the prime minister will be out of his job before the end of this week.
Prime minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson says he is “not worried about Iceland’s reputation abroad” following revelations he is among a dozen current or former world leaders using offshore tax havens.
Sigmundur Davíð was in a defiant mood when interviewed by local radio station Bylgjan this morning, despite having been featured in local media and on the covers of numerous newspapers around the world as an alleged tax fraud. He accused the reporters, conducting the interview aired on Sunday, of “designing the line of questions so they would throw him of balance” and continued to insist that he has done nothing wrong, illegal or immoral.
More: Watch full interview with Iceland's Prime Minister: No, I will not resign
Among other heads of states revealed in the Panama papers to have connection to offshore companies are Russia’s president Putin, Syria’s president Assad and Ukraine’s president Poroshenko.
Iceland’s prime minster is the only head of state in a western democratic country who has been linked directly to a company listed in an offshore tax haven.
Iceland Insider’s analysis: What will happen next?
Prime minister Sigmundur Davíð seems to be completely delusional regarding his own position and regarding the damage done to Iceland’s reputation. At the same time as he keeps insisting that his coalition government of the Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn) and the Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) is standing strong, Bjarni Benediktsson, the leader of the Independence Party, has refused to offer his support to the prime minister and acknowledges that the life of the government is hanging by a thread. We predict that the prime minister will be out of his job before the end of this week.
